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12.1 Introduction
Most developed countries have national standards offices, charged with the
development and publication of standards for materials and processes in all
walks of life. Some of these have long histories of preparation and publication of
standards that have had a major effect upon industrial development. Not too
surprisingly, a significant number of standards have to do with safety
procedures, so that, in the case of filtration, procedures relating to fluid power
installations were among the earliest, and remain among the most important.
The need for established procedures for the demonstration of the efficiency of
high-grade air filters, and for the production of safe water, has led to a flesh burst
of standard creation.
498 Handbook of Filter Media
However, it is not only national bodies that produce key guidance documents.
Several industry-related associations have seen particular needs for standards,
and filled them well, with documents that have become classics of their kind -
ASHRAE is perhaps the prime example of this kind of body.
With the growing importance of international business, an international
standards organization was soon established, and there are now major ISO
standards in all fields of filtration work, and most new national standards are related
to their equivalent ISO document. The European countries have also established a
continent-wide organization, to ensure conformity of national standards.
The leading bodies in the issuance of standards are listed in Table 12.1, which
includes some of the international bodies, as well as some industry-specific
organizations. The ISO and CEN are non-commercial organizations, while
Eurovent is an association of manufacturers. All work t h r o u g h specialized
committees or working parties, which can sometimes take a very long time to
produce a final version, especially if the 'published for general discussion' stage is
a l o n g one.
The prime aims of the inclusion of this chapter on standards relevant to the world
of filter media are to show the complexity of the situation, and to highlight those
CEN has as its national members the national standards organizations of the EU and EFTA countries,
plus Czech Republic and Malta.
b Full name is EUROVENT-Cecomaf.
Filter Media Standards 499
of key interest. The list of standards that follows will also serve as an index to
most of the references to standards in earlier chapters of this Handbook.
The standards cover:
the mechanical testing of the materials used for filter media as to strength:
the determination of particular filtration characteristics, such as pore size
or permeability, of filter media:
the testing of filtration efficiency (i.e. particle retention or penetration),
including the definition of test dusts or aerosols, and methods for their
characterization; this is done for filters for liquids and gases, and for
particular applications, such as respirators, or lube oil filters.
The ways in which standards are developed for liquid s y s t e m s - engine fluids
and drinking w a t e r - has been well described by Peuchot, based on his work at
IFTS, and for several standards bodies ~1.2 ~. The world of air filtration standards
has been reviewed by another international expert, Gustavsson, from his
position as a m a n u f a c t u r e r and academic ~3.4~. Both are concerned to highlight
changes in standards.
There is, of course, m u c h overlap among standards published by different
bodies, national and international. Gustavsson ~3~ illustrates the relationships
between the ASHRAE standards 52.1 and 52.2, and the European EN779 and
EUROVENT standards. Thus ASHRAE 52.1 became the US national standard,
and was adopted as EUROVENT 4/5, and then as EN 779. These were developed
into EUROVENT 4/9, and the new version of EN 7 7 9 (prEN 7 7 9 ) , and similar
developments led to ASHRAE 52.2 - a good review of the derivation of the latter
can also be found in the paper by Hanley et al. ~~ ~.
Perhaps because of the long gestation time for a new standard, manufacturers
can move into a perceived gap, as has Hy-Pro with its Dynamic Filter Efficiency
method of testing r which it claims to be an improvement on even the latest
form of multipass test.
Much of the testing of filters and filter media is based upon the selection and
definition of good test dusts, and some of the earliest relevant standards were
involved in just such a definition. Better and better definition seems possible as
shown by Bensch C71 in a review of the impact of modern ISO standards on
hydraulic and lubricating fluids.
A list of all the standards of possible relevance to filter media, including material
testing and filtration characteristic determination, would be a vast undertaking,
and of no real value to this Handbook. The following sections note the key
standards for the British national body, and for one or two other national
organizations, including the major international standards.
Tables 12.2 and 12.3 list the British standards covered in earlier chapters of
this Handbook, and others of direct relevance, including both those particular to
the BSI, and those with direct international equivalence. Table 12.2 has the
500 Handbook of Filter Media
BS 7403-3:1998 Full-flow lubricating oil filters for internal combustion engines. Methods of
(ISO 4 548- 3:1997) test for resistance to high differential pressures and to elevated
temperatures
BS 7403-4:1998 Full-flow lubricating oil filters for internal combustion engines. Methods of
(ISO 4548-4:1997) test for initial particle retention efficiency, life and cumulative efficiency
(gravimetric method)
BS 7403-6:1991 Full-flow lubricating oil filters for internal combustion engines. Methods of
(ISO 4 548- 6:1985) test for static burst pressure
BS 7 4 0 3 - 1 1 : 1 9 9 8 Full-flow lubricating oil filters for internal combustion engines. Methods of
(ISO 4 5 4 8 - 1 1 : 1 9 9 7 ) test for self-cleaning filters
BS 7 4 0 3 - 1 2 : 2 0 0 0 Full-flow lubricating oil filters for internal combustion engines. Filtration
(ISO 4 5 4 8 - 1 2 : 2 0 0 0 ) efficiency using particle counting, and contaminant retention capability
BS 7591-1:1992 Porosity and pore size distribution of materials. Method of evaluation by
mercury porosimetery
BS 7591-2:1992 Porosity and pore size distribution of materials. Method of evaluation by
gas adsorption
BS 7591-4:1993 Porosity and pore size distribution of materials. Method of evaluation by
liquid expulsion
BS 7 8 8 1 : 1 9 9 7 Method of test for petrol filters
BSISO 1 2 1 0 3 - 1 : 1 9 9 7 Road vehicles. Test dust for filter evaluation. Arizona test dust
BSISO 1 2 1 0 3 - 2 : 1 9 9 7 Road vehicles. Test dust for filter evaluation. Aluminium oxide test dust
BSISO 1 4 2 6 9 - 4 : 1 9 9 7 Tractors and self-propelled machines for agriculture and forestry.
Operator enclosure environment. Air filter test method
BS ISO 1 6 8 8 9 : 1 9 9 9 Hydraulic fluid power. Filters. Multipass method for evaluating filtration
performance of a filter element
BSEN 136:1998 Respiratory protective devices. Full face masks. Requirements, testing,
marking
BS EN 141:2 O00 Respiratory protective devices. Gas filters and combined filters.
Requirements. testing, marking
BS EN 143:2 O00 Respiratory protective devices. Particle filters. Requirements, testing,
marking
BS EN 149:2000 Respiratory protective devices. Filtering half-masks to protect against
particles. Requirements, testing, marking
BS EN 4 0 5 : 2 0 0 0 Respiratory protective devices. Valved filtering half-masks to protect
against gases or gases and particles. Requirements, testing, marking
BSEN 779:1993 Particulate air filters for general ventilation. Requirements, testing, marking
BSEN 1822-1:1998 High-efficiency air filters (HEPA and ULPA). Part 1: Classification,
performance testing, marking
BSEN 1822-2:1998 High-efficiency air filters t HEPA and ULPA). Part 2: Aerosol production,
measuring equipment, particle counting statistics
BSEN 1822-3:1998 High-efficiency air filters (HEPA and ULPA). Part 3: Classification,
performance testing, marking
BSEN 1822-4:1998 High-efficiency air filters IHEPA and ULPA). Part 4: Testing flat sheet
filter media
BSEN 1822-5:1998 High-efficiency air filters IHEPA and ULPA). Part 5: Determining the
efficiency of a filter element
BS EN 182 7"2000 Respiratory protective devices. Half-masks without inhalation valves and
with separable filters to protect against gases or gases and particles or
particles only. Requirements, testing, marking
BSEN 1 2 0 8 3 : 2 0 0 0 Respiratory protective devices. Filters with breathing hoses (non-mask
mounted filters). Particle filters, gas filters and combined filters.
Requirements, testing, marking
BSEN 1 2 3 4 1 : 1 9 9 9 Air quality. Determination of the PM10 fraction of suspended particle
matter. Reference method and field test procedure to demonstrate
reference equivalence of measurement method
BSEN 1 2 9 0 1 : 1 9 9 9 Products used for treatment of water intended for h u m a n consumption.
Inorganic supporting and filtering materials. Definitions
BSEN 1 2 9 0 2 : 1 9 9 9 Products used for treatment of water intended for h u m an consumption.
Inorganic supporting and filtering materials. Methods of test
BSEN 1 2 9 4 1 : 2 0 0 0 Respiratory protective devices. Powered filtering devices incorporating a
helmet or a hood. Requirements, testing, marking
BSEN 1 2 9 4 2 : 2 0 0 0 Respiratory protective devices. Power assisted filtration devices
incorporating full face masks, half-masks or quarter-masks. Requirements,
testing, marking
BSEN 13274-1"2001 Respiratory protective devices. Methods of test. Determination of inward
leakage and total inward leakage
BS EN 132 74-2:2001 Respiratory protective devices. Methods of test. Practical performance tests
BSEN 13274-3:2001 Respiratory protective devices. Methods of test. Determination of breathing
resistance
BS EN 132 74-4:2001 Respiratory protective devices. Methods of test. Flame tests
BSEN 13274-5:2OO1 Respiratory protective devices. Methods of test. Climatic conditions
BSEN 13328-1:2001 Breathing system filters for anaesthetic and respiratory use. Salt test
method to assess filtration performance
Filter Media Standards 503
USA
ASHRAE Gravimetric and dust-spot procedures for testing air-cleaning devices used
52.1-1992 in general ventilation for removing particulate matter
ASHRAE Method of testing general ventilation air-cleaning devices for removal
52.2-1999 efficiency by particle size
Germany
VDI 3926:1994 Guideline for the characterization and evaluation ofcleanable filter media
with respect to their long-term filtration behaviour
basic BSI standards, quoting ISO equivalents where they exist, Table 12.3
having the combined national/international standards. The gradual integration
of national, regional and international standards can be seen in both tables.
Other national standards are shown in Table 12.4, covering the two key
ASHRAE documents on dust removal filter testing, and the VDI guideline on
cleanable filter media.
Most of the key CEN and ISO standards have already been listed in Table 12.3,
under combined BSI/CEN/ISO numbers - the reader will have to consult Tables
12.2 and 12.3, for example, for all ISO standards of relevance. Table 12.5 lists
some more international documents not already covered, including the
important EUROVENT standards.
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12.4 References